catch report...

hey everyone. Catch report on peacock bass for the last few weeks... yes yes... lame ass fish but there aren't much places to fish in singapore and peacock bass are quite catchable. so yah. went for em. they are pretty fun on poppers too. so far i find, pink charlies or clousers are the most effective. they are visual fish, often taking the fly about 5 feet away from you when ur about to pick up and cast again.

HOOKUP!



peacock bass about 2kg caught on 3rd dec. first peacock bass on my evo 2 also ... rod used is an orvis superfine 704-2, the one ounce



my buddy's fish.



LE: 12 dec 2005.met nick at the subway station then caught a bus to the spot. we rigged our rods and started casting. i scored a few smallish palm sized peacocks which i put back and didnt take photo. what for when u've got photos of small peacock bass rite?


I really should become a guide. i helped someone get his first fish on a fly. from cast to your 11.30, about 30 feet, drop the line NOW!, strip, strip, hes on it! set! all the way to pressure the fish more! dun let the fish bully you! the product: a very happy Nick, handsome looking peacock bass and a ripped up pink charlie tied by me. he blooded my evo 2 for its 3rd decent peacock bass. Mind you, nick missed a few million babies when he was getting his act together and before i told him what to do... after that he got locked on to this guy.


i thought nick's rod looked softish so i wanted to try it. a few casts later, i got my first decent fish for the day. it was an action packed morning as after i zapped my first decent fish, the whole area was alive with these critters and they were not small.



there was suddenly a frenzy and i nailed a few more smallish ones and had a huge fella break off one of my flies... sigh... well

here we go... a spotty one by nick...


and a beautiful one too



and thats about it!

update... you know who you are

to all the people who i thought were the friends who meant the most to me... THANKS VERY MUCH! Seems that all u guys and Gals are too busy and cast me aside, leaving me in sorrow and tears since u cant spend my 16th Bday with me... thanks for making me cry... am still crying too...

Yours,
An Ren

australia fishing

Dear Margot,
I have been to Perth this holiday. I enjoyed myself very much. I did many things like fishing, eating and generally having a whale of a time. The best part was that I made a new friend, Lydia. I still recall the night when she and I were sitting together on a ledge, fishing for trout. I had caught a few on fly fishing gear during the day. I still recall the look on her face as i hauled up her first ever trout. Incidentally, it was the first time in her life that she was fishing.

I was very pleased with her and we enjoyed chatting the time away in between bites. That night, we got 4 trout between the 2 of us and even our parents were impressed. Unfortunately, Dorcas, Lydia's sister blanked both during the day time and night time fishing sessions which made me feel quite bad. Fortunately, the next day at the trout farm, she caught 1 fish which made me highly relieved.

Trout fishing is fun at all times, be it when they are spooky and hard to catch on fly or plum dumb or eating bait. I will sleep now because it is late and tomorrow i have to get up early.
Good Night.

Yours,
An Ren

Vesak Day

Dear Margot,
Today I went fishing, but broke my rule which is "no fishing at pay ponds". I went to Pasir Ris pond instead of going to Macritchie reservoir. I figured that since it is Vesak day, many people will be releasing animals and the rangers will be out patroling full force and I do not want to get caught or anything because some of them are extremely picky about fly fishers.

Well, the trip was quite good but I think it is not as good as it was before the management changed hands. I had the honour of catching the first fish of the day which was a frisky finger mark snapper. It was about 2kg and gave a very good struggle especially on light tackle. It was also the first fish that my brand new shimano chameleon from Uncle Chee Beng hooked and landed. Coincidentally, this finger mark is the first one that I have caught for the last 6 years. The last one I caught was at the Lagoon Fishing Pond at East coast and has since Closed down.

The second fish was a red snapper that was probably pushing the 2 kg mark also. It gave a very good struggle and like the finger mark, it bent the rod well down into the middle section and took backing from my reliable Shimano Calcutta 250 reel. It was the first snapper I have caught for the last 2 years at least. I last helped to land was one when I was fishing over some deep water with Uncle Chee Beng.

It was about 15 minutes before Koon Wei and I would have to pack up and leave for home and all of a sudden, Koon Wei's reel screamed as line tore off the spool for a few split seconds. He jumped up like a cat pouncing on a mouse. He whipped the rod out of the holder at lightning speed and proceeded to enjoy the struggle the fish was going to put up. From the looks of the bend in the rod, the fish was not going to be very big. I lip gripped the fish and out came a shiny, sparkling silver coloured barramundi. We removed the hook which had been set in the corner of the mouth and took a photo.

We both enjoyed ourselves tremendously and managed to cure the itch to go fishing for a few days. Now I have a new wall paper for my computer's wallpaper. I have also started studying for my exam on wednesday and i think I will be able to do fairly Ok for the paper.

I am going to continue studying now. Good Night

Yours,
An Ren

Today was quite relaxing in the morning and tiring in the afternoon. I jumped out of bed at 530 in the morning to do something I enjoy tremendously - fishing. I went to lower pierce and after less than half an hour, my 4 weight rod broke at the ferrule. I do not know why it broke but it just cracked. In desperation, I whipped out my mobile phone and rang mum and asked her to bring my 6weight fly set for me to use.

When mum arrived, she handed me the rod and asked what happened, so i explained that i was just casting and suddenly heard a loud crack and upon inspection of my rod, it had cracked. She seems to still be upset. Maybe it is because it was the first fly rod I ever got and she bought it.

At about 8am, a storm began to brew and as it approached, Desmond and i packed our rods faster than ever before because we did not want to get struck by lightning and become Lightning Rods (a series of rods made by Berkley, a rod brand). We began to walk briskly towards the nearby bus stop at the main road and we ran the last 30 meters or so because it had begun to drizzle and it was getting heavier by the second. We stood under the shelter and watched the sky unleash its fury and it was raining cats and dogs. Lightning flashed all around us and it was comforting to know that I was not at the water's edge fishing away and risking getting struck by lightning.

Desmond and I took a bus down to Macritchie reservoir to catch lampans. Before we went to the cove to fish for the lampans. We berleyed and the lampans appeared but they refused to eat our bread flies. We eventually moved around the corner to cast at the gigantic shoal of lampans. There were so many of them, I found it difficult to see the bottom of the reservoir. I berleyed out 2 pieces of bread and cast out my fly and was rewarded by a hearty take, followed by a lost fish because I failed to set the hook properly. 2 presentations later, I was rewarded with a take, and a fish neatly hooked in the front of its mouth. I then threw out more bread and Desmond was rewarded with a hookup! we finally had a double hookup! Sheer bliss! we compared the sizes of our fish and Desmond's fish was much bigger than mine and I had the honour of releasing his fish for him. I think his fish was about 12 inches or larger. It was about the size of my largest ever lampan. Perhaps it was the same fish.

Desmond was also unlucky enough to lose his bread fly to a stupid turtle who ate it up. As a result, I gave Desmond one of my bread flies.

Essentially, that was my morning which i spent fishing. I spent my afternoon studying because exams are this week. I will sleep now becuse I have church tomorrow and I have to get up early. Most importantly, I am sleepy.

Good Night.
Yours,
An Ren

quizzie is fun!

Dear Margot,
Today is another record. It is the latest time I have ever got home after school, it was because I went for the 27th C.B. Paul math and science quiz. I enjoyed myself greatly even thought it was extremely tiring. I did not know how to do alot of the questions but used my common sense to get through them. I am glad that I got some questions correct b clarifying my answers with Dad. I was greatly to see the familiar face or Li Feng who is a friend of mine who i rarely see. I think that the people marking the papers must have had a great laugh at my script because I think most of the answers were and just wrote nonsense.

I also have tons of homework to be done. School is getting more stressful by the day but at least this will be over soon and I can have a long fishing season. I am going to do my homework now. Good Night.

Yours

An Ren

Fishing TODAY!!!

Dear Margot,
Yesterday so sucked really badly, especially the fishing because my Orvis superfine fly rod snapped due to my totally idiotic carelessness while landing a fish. I was stupid to high stick the rod resulting in the tip breaking off. I have nothing to do about it now so what I will do is send the rod back to Orvis. In the meantime, I think I will buy a spare rod to use. I cannot decide between a winston boron2x, Winston IBIS, Scott G or A2 or possibly another Orvis superfine. However, the problem is that all of the rods are extremely expensive and cost at least $300.

Today, I went fishing with Mike. We met up at the Caltex petrol station near my house. I brought alot of bread to use berley to turn the lampans to feeding mode. I casted the bread fly into the frenzy and instantly, I had a hit from this little fish. Actually, it is a very good size for an early seaon fish.

The second fish was almost the same size and put up an equally good struggle as the first one even though is was slightly smaller. It took an elk hair caddis.


I got another 6 fish following those 2 and 3 were caught on 3 consecutive casts which were all very well placed. The fish took the flies instantly and I instinctively set the hook, resulting in very clean hookups in the lips of the fish, which i find excellent for both the fish and I, because it causes mininmal holes in the fish's mouth, no blood is shed and is easy for me to remove for a quick release. I also lost a good sized toman when it took my little surface fly because it swallowed the fly into its throat and the teeth cut my leader.

This is essentially my day of fishing, excluding the comments from bozos who tried to tell me that fly fishing was disallowed in the reservoirs. It is late now so I will sleep. Good Night everyone, including the lampans!

Yours,
a happy, contented and tired

An Ren

fishing weekend

Dear Margot,
I fished yesterday, today and will fish tomorrow. Today, I fished by myself and got a luo han. Yesterday I fished with Albert, Mark and Desmond. We all enjoyed ourselves throughly even though only Desmond and I caught fish. I am extremely happy at the thought of having caught my first ever lampan on fly.

Tomorrow, I will go to macritchie again with Mike to catch more lampans. I hope I catch many of them and not many turtles. Catching turtles irritates me no end because they are a total waste of time as they do not fight at all and often do not allow me to take out the fly, resulting in me cutting off the fly.

I must get an early night tonight so I will have energy to fish tomorrow. Goodnight.

yours,
An Ren

fishing-soon to be 2weekends in a row.

Dear Margot,
I have decided to go fishing this weekend. I will be kind and bring my Mumy along. I hope she can remember how to cast a fly and will not injure any passers by or on lookers, which i am sure she will not do. I will probably lend her my 6wt because it is an easier rod to cast than my 4wt in the sense that is is faster and more forgiving, however, the drawback is that it needs a short and fast casting stroke for it to really shoot off line like a rocket, which is what i really like.

I have been thinking about rods lately and wonder if i should get the powell rod from Fred. It is a totally different rod from my Orvis. The Orvis is a dry fly and nymph rod for small streams where presentation is critical. The Powell on the other hand is like the Sage TCR meant for throwing long and not really for pillow soft presentations. However, i still think it is an absolutely beautiful rod. The deep blue finish is very stylish and the thread wraps are gorgeous.

I think I will have to think carefully about the Powell rod and have been thinking about it since last Saturday. I will probably cast it again this Saturday if Fred comes fishing with Albert, Mum and I. I am going to sleep now. GoOd NiGhT

Yours,
an ren

Fish

Dear Margot,
I have just looked at my collection and realised that I have 6 peacock bass that eat more than I think they do. They are all still babies but yet show very beautiful colours. What i need is a bigger tank. Their stripes are well defined and the red is finally coming out. What I noticed is that they have grown at an extremely fast rate, much faster than any other fish I have ever kept. However, I will soon need a new fish tank because 3 peacocks let alone 6 will not fit into a 2 foot fish tank.

I will sleep now because I am tired and have to go shower.

Yours,
An Ren

remember this day.

Dear Margot,
Today was very relaxing and fun. I lept out of bed at about 530 in the morning to go fishing. I sored peacocks number 2 to 6 of year 2005. The biggest one of the trip which was number 5 actually did a backing run. Well, that is probably because I had cast out all my fly line. Today is a day to remember not because I caught peacocks and put one in my fish tank but because I managed to cast out all the fly line on 1 of my rods and on Fred's 4wt Powell, which I am considering buying.

After fishing, I went home for a shower and to go to worship practice because I am playing in church tomorrow. I met the guys in Wesley Hall in church and we set up all the equipment. I have learnt to do a fill in for Hear Our Praises, which I am pleased with. I know that whatever happens tomorrow is God's will. Because he is ultimately in control of everything. It is by God's grace that the practice went very smoothly considering other practices I have been to. I need an early night because I need to catch up on sleep. Good Night.

Yours,
An Ren

last training of the season- best one for 8months!

Dear Margot,
This weekend has been eventful. I had dinner with uncle Dennis, his wife, mum's parents and the rest of my immediate family. We ate at our neighbourhood restaurant, Peach Garden. and as usual, the food was excellent.

I sailed yesterday and today. I did not sail very well but at least today when we sailed with part of the national squad i managed a to finish in the top 15. Also, I managed to beat Elliot who is a good friend of mine and has been beating me for the last 8 months or so and I finally beat him in all the races today. So the way I sailed was not that bad. Or at least I think its not that bad. My byte is absolutely horrible. I just had the seals replaced and the silly boat still leaks. At least I am selling it after the inter-school regatta in early July.

Training for the current sailing season is over. Today was the last training for a month or so. I am highly relieved because I need a break from sailing and would like to go fishing.

I am going to sleep now. Good Night.

Yours,
Tired, sore and aching all over.

An Ren

D@y 2

Dear Margot,
Today was the second day of the Sing-Siam regatta. There were 2 races of which I sailed one in a pico and the other, I sailed a ful-rig laser. After the first race, the wind sort of died and I exchanged boats with Kok Gin. I had a lousy start, I think it was probably the worst start I had done through out my whole regatta. However, I caught up rather well and managed a finish in 9th position out of a fleet of about 25 sailors. I think this is wonderful since i beat some Thai sailors and this is the first ever race that I sailed in a laser.

After sailing and helping Andrew pack up the Pico, Andrew and I went fishing. I was extremely lucky and fortunate. I am glad I have been looking at fish in their natural surroundings and was able to see the fish at the sides of the marina. I made a few casts and the fishes chased the fly. Unfortunately, they refused to take the fly. So in order to attempt to hook the fish, I walked along the marina with my line trailing in the water. I soon felt a tug and thought the fly was stuck on a rock. So, I tugged back hard. surprisingly, the line started to move so I lifted the rod and up came this 6 inch long pencil looking fish with a yellow tail. I grabbed it with my gloved hand and realised it was a baby barracuda or cuda for short. It was beautiful, it had a yellow tail, a long slim streamline body and a mouth full of razor sharp teeth. It sure did not put up much of a fight but the take was very strong and I am very happy having scored another type of fish on fly tackle.

I think fishing is a wonderful sport because after the fish gave me some fun and some poses for Andrew's camera phone, I released the little fish to live another day. I think that if I do not eat the fish, I should release the fish unharmed. I am tired and aching all over so I will sleep now. Good night.

Yours,
An Ren

Fishing today!! yeah dude!!

Dear Margot,
Today I had a most exciting day. It may have been dark gloomy and anything that would mess up someone's day but not for me. Why? Simply because I was going fishing at an untouched area with the people from SFAS which is the Sport Fishing Association Singapore.

I woke up in total darkness at about 620 in the morning. I couldn fall asleep because I was too excited. I climbed shakily out of bed because I did not get much rest the night before as I was packing my bag. Well, I got up, poured coffee for Mum and Dad so as to get them out of bed, gathered all my items then we headed out to West Coast ferry terminal. The car ride was uneventful. I felt the excitement building inside me and all i could think of was casting and hooking a monster fish.

I arrived at the ferry terminal and was warmly greeted by Jimmy Aw who invited me. He himself had brought 2 rods, an 8wt and a 6wt. He is an extremely nice person. He actually said," Hi auntie, hi uncle."Then shut the car door for me when I was dropped off. Well, we boarded the ferries to take us to the island after submtting the indemnity form.

The fishing was extremely productive. I had many takes but did not manage to muscle any of the fish or the shark to the side to be photographed and released. I will blog about it tomorrow. the summarised report would be as follows. I hooked 1 herring, 1 black tip reef shark about 4 feet long, 2 huge gts about 5kg at least, a todak and spooked a big tarpon. Tomorrow I will blog about the fish in greater detail because my arm and fingers are too tired to type more.

Good night.

Yours,
An Ren

Recounting my Queenie

Dear Margot,
Today I decided to recount on the big meter+ queen fish I caught in darwin, Australia last november. So this is how it goes.

I clearly remember seeing a small school of baitfish being assaulted by a few flashes of silver which were queenfish and tarpon. From the bow of the Guide’s boat, I casted my fly into the middle of the school of panicking baitfish and let it sink. Almost instantly, I had a humongous strong take. Instinctively, I yanked the fly line in my hand hard to set the hook. In less than a split second, the fly line on the deck seemed to levitate off the ground and fly through the line guides on the already bent rod like a bullet that had just been fired. Before I knew it, I was hanging on to the rod for dear life as the fish continued on its first mad dash. I watched the electric yellow backing melt off the spool like burning a small piece of paper. I somehow magically managed to turn the fish’s head and end its searing mad dash about 120 meters away from the boat. The fun began as I slowly but surely pumped the huge fish back to the boat. I knew he was tired and he knew I was tired too! I thought I had won when I saw the fish but he had the fright of his life and gave me a spectacular jumping and tail-walking display around the boat. He tried to dive but failed and after about 2 minutes of circling the boat, I managed to bring him to the boat side. I held my rod in my mouth and grabbed the fish’s lower jaw with my gloved hand so that Graeme who was the fishing guide could remove the fly which was neatly embedded in corner of its mouth. By the time we were about to release it, the poor fish was lying on its side so I faced it into the current so that water would flow over its gills and hopefully the fish would revive. After a few minutes, I let go of the fish and it swam away unhurt. The whole battle from the time the fish was hooked till it swam away from my hands, lasted about 45minutes.

and that is exactly what happened. Whatever it is, this is my version of the queenie and I will stick to it. It is now rather late so I'd better pack my bag and go to sleep. Good night.

Yours,
An Ren

Just one more trip?

Dear Margot,
Today was the big day. I always believe in the last cast so this time it was the last trip... of my march holidays. I woke up at like 6 to spike my hair and get changed and get ready to meet Albert and his collegue and Newton MRT station then we would proceed to Lower Pierce Reservoir which is one of my favourite haunts for a quick fishing session that is challenging yet extremely relaxing.

Everything went according to plan and everyone was slightly early at Newton MRT so we managed to arrive at the fishing grounds slightly early. We managed to begin fishing just after sunrise which is a good time to fish. I had no takes and was begining to get bored but kept my hopes up and dillegently kept casting. Out of the blue, my good friend Desmond also known as magminnow turned up. He started casting with his distinctive and unmistakeable casting stroke. His casting has improved alot and now it is very graceful. Well he was casting along the sides of the reservoir with a little fly he invented. Well, I walked over to greet him and he showed me some nice flies, some tactics to get fish and his casting technique. He caught 2 small peacocks, gave them to me to put in my fish tank and gave me the fly he had used to catch them. I myself hooked a few peacocks and missed a few takes on the fly he gave me. I tied on the fly carefully and began casting again. I missed a few takes. I think I am a bit rusty on setting hooks. It shows I should go fishing more often. This little fly is wonderful. I chucked it into a school of baby peacock bass and instantaly, they gave chase then the mother took the fly. Unfortunately, the threw the hook halfway through the fight. Too bad Mr Goh did not join me on this trip. He would have enjoyed himself greatly.

After fishing, Yu Hock who is a friend of Fred gave me a casting lesson. He taught me a great way to cast. It is where the rod is lead by the elbow then when the elbow is unable to lead anymore, the fore arm begins to lead and the wrist gives the last flick. Casting this way is not tiring and I am getting more distance and accuracy wich much less effort. I now just have to practice this technique and remember it. The most important thing to remember is that I must not force the cast and start the cast off slowly because I am supposed to accelerate throughout the casting stroke.

I seem to be getting happier and happier as the day progresses as my cousin Katrina is interested to learn to fish which means that if she learns to fish, I have another buddy to fish with which is extremely nice. Also, many of my buddies are not often free to go fishing so Since Katrina is still schooling, she will have the same holidays as I do which will help greatly in organising trips. I will stop writing here because I am now going to practice my casting.

Yours,
the boy who is still learning to fly cast
An Ren

Up at 5am

Dear Margot,
It is not everyday that I have to wake up at 5 am absolutely jovial. I flipped out of bed faster than I had ever done in my entire life. The alarm clock rang loud and clear in the silence of the night in my room and like a flash, I lept out of bed like never before. I got changed, washed my face, grabbed my rod and fishing gear and headed out into the darkness.

Flagging a taxi was a piece of cake. There seemed to be billions of them driving around looking for a fare to earn a wee bit more money before returning the cab.

THe journey to the fishing ground was rather uneventful. The taxi driver was not chatty. He was very quiet and drove like the wind. Perhaps it was because there were few people on the road at such an early hour.

Mike and I rigged up our gear and I made the privilage or making the first cast of the trip. I started witha small popper fly. It seemed todraw no attention from the fish so i decided to change fly and use a baitfish imitation which had worked time and time again for me at many locations.

In the darkness (about 645), I barely was able to make out where the fish were and where it was safe to stand. I do not know how but I managed to see a large crusing saratoga. I dug out one of the two dhalberg divers which are large surface flies tied using feathers and deer hair. I estimated that the fish was about 60 feet away and I made one false cast and shot the line out and got the Dhalberg six feet in front of the fish. I popped the fly once and the creature exploded jumping as it savaged my fly. I saw the line being ripped from the surface and the line on the floor speed through the guides like a shotgun bullet. I held the fly line in my right hand to set the hool and the fish took to the air. The hook was firmly embedded in the fish's jaw and i watched in utter shock as the fly line rip from the water surface as the fish went on its first mad dash. The fight was exciting as it was a battle of wit and skill. I was more skilled than the fish and so managed to bring it to my feet where it struggled and tried to dislodge the obnoctious object inbetween its upper and lower jaw. A few jumps later, it came to my hand and i picked up the fish to have a good look at it. I think it must have been at least 70cm long. A humongous size for a gorgeous green arowana. Conincedentally, this arowana is the first that I landed on my 9weight and the first green arowana I have every caught. The hook came out very easily as arowanas have a boney mouth so it is extremely hard to set the hook in an arowana's mouth. It is estacitc to see the fly being engulfed by such a huge fish. To land it and be able to hold the fish to have a good look is such wonderful feeling that words cannot describe it.

Fishing to me is a way to unwind after a difficult term at school and I think I truly deserve this trip because I worked hard during term and produced some nice grades (much like my arowana). It is very late now and I have to sleep now or else I will be unable to wake up for church tomorrow. Good night.

Yours,
An Ren

Wishlist

Dear Margot,
Today was a very happy day. I am absolutely jovial because I was highly commended by Dr Barrett for getting good effort and achievement grades. I am prpud of myself for gettting the commendation. I want to get another 2 next term so Mum will buy me an arowana and a monsterous fish tank so it will have lots of space to swim about. I also had 2 tests back to back and they were ok. I hope I will get a distinction for both of them because I like the subjects very much (physics and economics).

At the moment, the thing that is on the top of my wishlist is good grades as that will elad to a new fish tank and new fish. THe next in line is probably a new casting reel since my calcutta which Kong gave to me in primary 3 is worn out after of catching many fish.

I am looking forward to fishing this saturday. I want to try out my new fly reel and the new leaders I tied the other day. They are something new i thought of which involves braiding 3 strands of the desired tippet strength and tapering it to 2 strands and finally 1 strand. They are supposed to be able to cast better and turn over large flies more efficiently. However, I do not know how true that is.

Since it is late, I shall go to sleep now.Good night.

Yours,
A very happy, excited and sleepy
An Ren

Queenie and today

Dear Margot,
Today is the last monday of term 1. I had alot of fun in school and throughly enjoyed myself. It seems to be more relaxed now that tests are more or less over for the term. However, I have a chinese test and a physics test on thurday and wednesday respectively. Having tests is ok because I seem to be doing ok in them except for a few like additional math and chemistry.

Since today I have nothing else to blog about, I shall recount and blog about the biggest queenfish I caught in Darwin last november. Graeme who was the fishing guide for the first day of fishing in Dawin. He collected Kong and I from the hotel (Holiday Inn, Darwin) at about 830 in the morning and in less than 10 minutes after leaving the hotel, we were at teh boat launch ramp for Graeme to launch his boat. I was given the honours of holding the boat in position while Graeme went to park his 4 wheel drive.

We motored out of Darwin harbour which was pristine unlike harbours in Singapore. I could actually see the sea bed and where the launching ramp ended. After we got about 300 meters or so away from the boat launch ramp, Graeme began to rig up his own 9weight fly rod and I rigged up mine. He rigged up his rod for me to use just in case mine broke or a calamity happened to my gear. His rod which is an Innovator Matrix had a much slower and forgiving action than my Orvis which had an fast action for casters with shorter strokes.

Well, I started off with Graeme's rod because I had not warmed up yet and thought a slower rod would suit me better before I had warmed up. After a few casts, I saw this queenfish chasing the fly i had cast out. It grabbed my white clouser minnow which I had tied and went on a jumping spree much like a hooked wahoo. I wondered if it took more line in the air or if it was swimming. Unfortunately, My joy of hooking my first Queenfish on fly as soon dashed when it threw the hook after its jumping routine.

We motored to another area which was very rocky and the water was very clear and blue in colour. Again, I picked up Graeme's rod and made my cast which was about 80 feet. ON the retrieve, I saw this silver flash as quick as lightning charge up behind my fly and grab it. I felt the line tighten and instinctively, I yanked hard on the fly line and lifted the rod to set the hook. again this fish unpredictably jumped all over the place. Fly line on the boat deck sped out through my hand as the fish tried to make a run but did not seem to be trying very hard and seemed to like jumping. Finally it got its act together and went on a rampage which bent the rod to the butt and took some backing. I wrestled with the fish and after about 5 minutes, it came to the boatside and still found energy to jump. This tarpon changed my impression of tarpons because the ones I had caught were all very easy to land but this one was not. Finally it was netted and weighed 3kilograms acording to Graeme's lip grip. Coincedentaly, it was the biggest tarpon I had ever caught. I was all smiles as I posed for a picture with the beautiful fish.

I still had not got my queen fish and wanted to test my new rod which is the Orvis so I picked it up and made my cast. It shot line like a rocket and even though it was hard to achieve maximum loading of the rod, it still fired off a 90 foot cast excluding the leader. This time, I did not see any flash but the line tightened after a few strips of line. Knowing it was something big, I set the hook and the fish took off on a long run. I desperately increased the drag on my reel in an attempt to slow the fish down. Backing spewed from the spool as the fish ran. Finally its initial dash slowed and I pumped the fish towards the boat. When I though I was winning, the fish freaked out and tail walked and jumped around wildly. Its soon fell back into the blue depths and made another run. Thankfully, it was shorter and I did not have to worry about my reel being stripped. The battle soon began to be a see saw with the fish coming into view a few times. I was tired and so was the fish. I thought it was another tarpon but when it came to the boat some 45 minutes after being hooked, I was jovial to find that it was a queenfish. and a giagantic one too. It was more than a meter long and it sparkled in the water as i held it as Graeme was removing the hook. I wanted a photo with it but it was exhausted from the battle and I wanted it to live so we faced it in the current to revive it and soon, its colours came back and it swam away. I was happy to see the majestic creature swim away after I let go of its mouth. It seemed to be at peace. Neither similes nor words could not describe the joy I felt as I watched it swim away.

That is the story of my first and biggest queen fish I have caught on a fly rod to date. I will always remember that fish and hope it is still alive for me to catch another day. Good night.

Yours,
An Ren

burned out sunday

Dear Margot,
Today being a Sunday, I went sailing after church and a bite to eat at home. It rained on the way to the club which is quite unusual because when I go to the club, it is normally bright and sunny. I arrived at the club for the monthly in-house race which is basically a monthly race which is free and trophies are given out.

The wind seemed to be light when i launched my boat but I my hopes of a day of medium wind were dashed when the waves started getting a lot bigger and the wind picked up at a very rapid pace. Before I knew it, the boat started surfing waves. The wind finally peaked at about 15knots according to Uncle Tony.

I honestly think i sailed 4 out of 4 races very badly. I capsized at the start of the first race due to a stupid mistake and another time halfway up the beat which was such an awful way to start the race. Well, I guess I was still tired from sailing yesterday and my muscles ached alot. I think it is because I am not as fit as I was last month and I had a trying day sailing yesterday.

The positions I scored are so bad, I would rather not remember them. I will just remember that the conditions were totally against me with really big waves and strong wind. Surprisingly I finished 5th overall which is an achievement for me because I somehow pulled it off without knowing it. Also another good thing was that I capsized 3 times as opposed to the 5 capsizes I did yesterday which I am quite happy about. Reflecting on the day sailing, I think I have high expectations of myself and that to pull off a 5th in overpowering conditions is indeed an extraordinary feat which I have never done before. I actually beat a few sailors who have better national ranking positions than I do. This is the only thing that happened today that I am proud of.

Well, thats about all that happened today but I am quite pleased with myself for betting my new fly reel spooled with backing. I bought 300 yards of 30lbs tuf line xp and the vacking and fly line fits into the reel like hand to glove. How nice. Myabe this holiday I will go catch milkfish as it is really fun watching backing disappear after a huge or fast fish takes the fly. Well, I'd better go do my tuition homework now since I have to hand it in tomorrow. Good night.

WiNdY SaTuRdAy

Dear Margot,
Today I went sailing. It is the first time in 3 weeks that I have the chance to sail. Without hesitation, I packed all my gear and before I knew it, Dad, Mum and I were in the East Coast Parkway heading towards the NSRCC which is where my boat is stored. We stopped for lunch at a char kway tiow stall somewhere near Marine Parade. I enjoyed the meal even though it was a little too oily.

I arrived at the club and too my horror, I was the first person to arrive there. That did not damped my excitement of getting on the water again. I plesantly surprised to see my good friend, Hamim who repairs my boat when i chip it or damage it. We had a good chat and he helped me get my boat off the shelf and onto my trolley.

It was an hour or so before all the other squad members turned up and today turned out to be Uncle Tony's birthday. All of the people in the squad signed the card and I noticed everyone thanked him for coaching each of us. I am personally grateful to him for teaching me many things about byte sailing. I am also very grateful to a coach who used to coach me, Andrew Tam. He was a wonderful coach and did not scream at us but pushed us very hard. I improved tremendously under his guidance. He taught me to sail the byte and helped me refine my topper sailing. The topper was the boat I sailed from sec 1 to sec 2. It was an easy boat to sail but extremely lousy because the hulls i sailed leaked and the hiking straps were too short and could not be adjusted. Well, topper sailing is over for me and I am glad it is because I enjoy sailing bytes trememdously. They give me alot of excitement on the off wind legs and are easier to keep flat on the up wind beating legs of the race than the Laser.

The time to launch came and we all launched our boats. Today, the fleet consisted of bytes, standard lasers and laser radials. The wind was quite light when we launched, around 5knots and gradually increased to 8 or 9 knots by the time we started the race. I had to hike out flat almost all the time of the first race because the wind was slowly but surely picking up. I did not have a wonderful start but stayed on the left side of the course. I played the shifts and on a drastic shift, I tacked and made my way to the other side of the course to find I was first. The race finished at the windward mark and I finished first with a lead of about 8 boat lengths. The wind by the end of the race was blowing hard at about 10 knots.

The second race, I did not have as lucky a start as I did in the first race and many people were sporting my tactic of hanging around the left side of the course. Well, I sailed tried my best to keep the boat flat in the gusty 12knot breeze. My effort paid off with a finish in second place with a small lead.

The third race went well for the up wind leg despite the wind still howling at more than 12knots. I lost out at the gybe mark when I capsized and took a while to upright my boat. Many people passed me there because the fleet was not spread out as it was in the second race. I managed to catch up on the second and last reaching leg, the beat and down wind leg. My efforts were not in vain and I finished 4th.

The last race went extremely badly. I capsized at the start and was last. To make matters worse, the wind was very strong and there were white caps everywhere. I capsized another time in the middle of nowhere later on in the race during the up wind leg. I was exhausted and could hardly hike at all. Fortunately, everyone else seemed tired except Elliot who was happily hiking and keeping his boat flat like a table top. I sailed as fast as i could which was actually very slow as my boat was heeling a little and I was too tired to work the waves so my bow slammed on a few waves, stalling the boat for a split second.

Fourtunately, I went back to shore after the 4th race because I was too tired to sail more and some others followed me. I was so tired, I needed help to pull my boat up the ramp. I would rate my sailing today as good because I had not sailed for a long time and am not so fit as i was 3 weeks ago and I sailed as well I could. Now is late and I have the in-house race and chuch tomorrow so good night.

Yours,
An Ren

New reel!

Dear Margot,
the title of this entry says it all. I have got a new fly reel. I actually got this reel on saturday before worship practice. It is a Ross Canyon Big Game 4 which is the smallest one in the BG series.

I chose this reel over other brands in the fishing industry like Abel, Tibor, Orvis, Cabela, Scientific Anglers and Sage justs to name a few. This reel has a sealed and maintance free drag system which Scientific Anglers has in their large arbor series, the backing capacity to weight to price ratio is the best for the ross.

The Ross has not many moving parts so it is very difficult to burn or mess up this reel. Lastly, the reel has a lifetime warranty and I heard the service is absolutely phenominal. They return the reel within 5 working days! That is absolutely wonderful. It is somehting that all other brands do not offer.

The first reason I chose the Ross is its drag system which does not allow sand and dirt into the reel which is practically impossible to accomplish with a system that is not sealed. The drag on the reel is also very smooth and able to apply alot of pressure on a fish. A powerful yet strong drag is a great asset while fly fishing especially in saltwater.

The second reason I chose this reel is because it is a large arbor reel and its retrieve is much faster than a standard arbor which is a great advantage since I do alot of saltwater fly fishing and saltwater fish strip loads and loads of backing in the time taken for you to blink!

The third reason is that its finishing is a beautiful, deep and rich champane gold. This reel probably has the best finishing and corrosion resistance. Actually, the finishing of ross is beautiful and is only outdone by the finishing of the Orvis Vortex. Still, both reels are beautiful and the Ross is cheaper and that why I bought it, mind you, I already have a Vortex in black which is a lovely reel. However, the Vortex is a totally different story and I shall not write more about it here.

Now the only thing left is to spool in backing into the reel and go fishing! Which is something I will do very soon. I have to sleep now so goodnight.

Yours,
An Ren

Jurong fish market

Dear Margot,
early this morning, Dad, Mum and I went to the Jurong fishery port. It is something special that we went because we rarely are able to wake up so early to go to buy fish, prawns or crabs.

3am came and my alarm rang loud and clear in the dark depths of my messy room, waking me up with a start. I leapt out of bed and got changed and proceeded to wake my parents who were surprised to see that even though I had woken up so early, I was bright and chirpy like the morning sun's rays.

After an eventful 40minute drive and getting lost twice, we arrived at the gate to the market. The police man wanted to collect out identification cards but Mum and I did not bring them. Fortunately, the guy let us go in. Little did i know what I would see when I stepped into the market.

Dad parked the car a stone's throw from the market so we walked in.
Instantaneously, I noticed that the size of the fishes had fallen considerably in the span of 3 years. This means that Singapore is beind overfished at an alarming rate. I think it is the spanish mackeral season. They were in abundance and they were at almost every stall in all sizes from about 60cm to about 1.5 meters. It is quite saddening to see fish at markets and supermarkets getting smaller and smaller due to overfishing. I also heard that Australia is begining to be overfished. The fishing now is considered ok to many locals. The results years ago were absolutely mind blowing. I can only imagine how good it must have been.

Other than worship practice and going to the fish market, today was very uneventful. I should go and practice now because I'm playing tomorrow and I do not know the songs well.

Yours,
An Ren

God is good, all the time.

Dear Margot,
today was not very eventful but God is always there. This morning, I went to church in the morning and went for lunch with my family at Huat Kee which is a teochew restaurant we have been frequenting for years and I like the restaurant very much and last but not least, my afternoon again was spent studying at home instead of sailing or at the driving range or at the reservoir with fly rod in hand. However, what i did today is not the point of this entry.

Yesterday, I sprained my ankle very badly and did not realise until this morning until i found i could barely walk even with an ankle guard. Well, I went to church and I could walk alot more easily. I am not saying that I recover fast but it is by God's grace that i am now walking around without much pain. He listens to prayer as I asked for healing and he gave it to me. I only could walk around more normally at like 530pm.

Orvis is having a "Great Fly Sale" and they are selling some flies at US$1 or 2 each for selected items which is so cool. Dad has ordered some flies and a stripping basket for me. YIPPIE!! Now i can go fishing at rocky areas and not need to put my line on the ground and risk tripping over it, stepping on it and having it dragged accross the rocks if a fast fish hits the fly so my line will now year out more slowly!! What a blessing!!

I will be having various tests this week but I am actually looking forward to them because I want to know how well I am adapting to this new school. After the tests are over, I will be able to go fishing! I think I will go with my kakis if it they are free! I wonder when is the next time I land/ boat a fish and get to take a photo with it. The thought is making me drool... Anyway, whoever would like to bring me fishing is welcome to provided i know you.

ps: anyone know a good medium spin rod to get say rating 10-17 or 6-12. Don't say xtreme rods.


Yours,
An Ren

Bio test tomorrow

Dear Margot,
Today like all the other days of the week has been very busy. today instead of a biology project, Aston came over to do a chemistry project with me. Stephen could not come and neither could Johnathan Ho so Aston and I have decided to leave their names out of the project. Aston did the power point presentation on physical and chemical changes. I on the other hand did the presentation on elements, mixtures and compounds which was fun. Aston's power point still needs alot of touching up because he did the presentation in my opinion, quite badly because most of it seemed to be copy and paste work. So, I will have to rephrase almost all of it which is somewhat like doing the whole presentation all over again. However this is ok with me because Aston seemed to have worked hard on gathering the information. Well, I guess some people are absolutely horrible at doing power point presentations- ugh!! The horrors!!

Tomorrow is the first biology test of the year. Because I have been very busy all through this week, i have not had much time to study at all but have had little pockets of time to study so at least i have done what I can. The only comfort I have is that Charmaine, who is my classmate has also had very little tiime to study too! I have stopped studying for the night because I am flaking out at a very rapid pace, so, I should go to sleep before i fall asleep over my books while studying. I hope I do not mess up my test and after that, say *beep*, *beep* and *beep*. Mum has told me to do my best and that is exactly what I will do.

A very hectic week is taking a toll on me and I think I am begining to fall sick. It is not the amount of studying I have to do. The actual fact is that I have not been sleeping early, well or getting enough sleep so mayb my body is protesting by falling ill which is what I do not want. because being sick is the worst thing I can spend my precious beloved time doing.

School may be a whole lot more tiring and taxing than at Barker but I am enjoying myself throughly even though I have very little time for myself. I think I will go to sleep now because I am falling asleep, making alot of typing mistakes and would not like to fall asleep over my laptop and messy desk.

Yours,
a very sleepy and tired

An Ren

Reflections Of Chinese New Year 2005

Dear Margot,
The Chinese New Year holiday is about to finish. Today is the last day of the Chinese New Year public holiday. I feel strange because I am sad, happy and many other feelings I cannot describe even with the most colorful language on Earth.

This year, there were some people that my family and I did not visit or get an opportunity to meet. The people we did not meet were my Grandfather's younger brother, my aunts, uncles and second cousins on Mum's side of the family. This I found very strange as I am used to seeing them every year as early as I can remember.

Even though I did not see many people that I normally see. I feel that this New Year has been fruitfully spent catching up with my friends and relatives. The only thing I did not like much about this New Year is that I did not get enough sleep and did not do as much studying as much as I would have liked to. Never the less, I have enjoyed myself very much and wish it could carry on but unfortunately it cannot. Life goes on and there is school tomorrow so I should go and study now. Talk to you again soon.

Yours,
An Ren

My Wishlist of fishing gear

Dear Margot,
I have had some time to think about fishing rods these past few days and let my imaginaation run wild and have come up with a list of fishing gear that i would dearly love to have but unfortunately I cannot afford them.

For fly fishing rods in the 9 weight class, I would like
1) Orvis T3 909-4
2) Winston Boron 2x
3) Sage Xi2
4) Scott s3s

For fly fishing rods in the 6 or 7 weight class, I would like
1) Orvis T3 906-4
2) Orvis TLS 906-4
3) Winston boron 2x 7
4) Sage xi2
5) Scott s3s

For fly fishing rods in the 4weight class, I would like
1) Orvis Superfine One ounce 704-2
2) Winston ibis
3) Scott A2
4)Winston Boron 2x

For fly fishing reels in the 9 weight class, I would like
1) Ross Canyon Big Game 4 or 5
2) Orvis Vortex VO2 5
3) Orvis Mach 5
4) Ross Evo 3.5

For fly fishing reels in the 6 or 7 weight class, I would like
1) Ross evo 3 or 3.5
2) Orvis Battenkill LA3
3) Abel super 6

For fly reels in the 4 weight class, I would like
1) Ross evo 2 or 2.5
2) Orvis Battenkill LA 2

I have left out lure fishing and many other methods of fishing as i am moving more towards fly fishing as it is more of a skill than other forms of fishing as i mentioned in another entry. however and gloomis rods and shimano reels will be very welcome if anyone gives thme to me. I have to go out now so I will write another entry later.

Yours,
An Ren

chinese new year

Dear Margot,
today is the first day of the chinese new year. Well, as a tradition in my family, last night, my family and i went to dinner at Grandma's house (Dad's mum's house). As usual, Auntie Esther, Uncle Edmond, Auntie Kim, Grandma, uncle Ashley, Auntie Emilyn and my cousins Tristan, Jared, Adam, Nicole and Lynette were there. this year was particularly unusual as there were very few people. I found that very strange. Never the less, i still enjoyed myself throughly. I really enjoyed catching up with Lynette who i have not spoken to for ages. It was wonderful seeing Nicole again as i hardly ever see her. To spice up the night, Tristan, Jared and Adam were playing with their toys and other games like catching. To watch them brought a smile to my face as it reminded me of how i used to be like 10 years ago. i miss those days very much where i could fool around, play, have fun and talk nonsense all day long. Sometimes, i do enjoy doing so onece in a while.
I played Uncle Ashley's Ibanez Artist which is a guitar. I think it is very lovely guitar and is for a person with an aquired taste but unfortunately, it weighs a ton. this is the second year in a row that i played the Artist. The sound of an Artist is a world apart from my Fender Strat. the Fender's sound is extremely defined and bright. The Artist's sound is heavy, dark and deep. the neck of a Strat is thin and the frets are tall but on the Artist, the neck is rounded and the frets are short. Because the Strat and the Artist aare so different in their sounds, they are often used for different purposes. The Strat would be used for rock, blues and punk. The Artist on the other hand is more for Jazz, Blues and older songs like those by the Beetles.

Today, my family and I went visiting. We visited all my grandparents, Uncle Cecil's Dad and Mum, Uncle Hock Lye and Auntie Jean,Taw Kor Poh, Mr lee (Mum's ex boss), Ipo Clarice (Dad's aunt) and i think thats about it. This was all very enjoyable. this Chinese New Year is a record because i actually wore a long sleeved shirt and black lnog pants and black shoes. however in previous years, i would wear a shirt and long pants and any shoes that passed the test of Mum and Dad.

Since its very late now, i should feed my dogs. Good night and see you tomorrow
Yours,
An Ren

reflections of the training session

Dear Margot,
I feel have spent my weekend quite fruitfully. I went sailing yesterday and today, managed to do some studying but not as much as i'd liked to have done. as in my previous entry,yesterday, i sailed quite badly and could not control the boat properly as the wind was extremely strong. Well, today Uncle Tony's squad trained with the national squad. I sailed quite well finishing 12th, 12th, 10th, 14th, 12th wehn i finished 12th on every race, it semmed to be that the same 11 people were always in front of me and i could not seem to catch up with them which left me puzzled to what were they doing that i was not. all of us were surfing waves, all of us were sailing the same design of boat and spars. this was quite demoralising. to make matters worse, during the race when i was 14th, i was in the top 10but unfortunately, the wind shifted drastically for a full 3 minutes and then gusted alot. it was very upsetting to have found that i was on the wrong side of the course and was trying hard to salvage the situation. i somehow sailed really well on the down wind leg of the race but to complete the picture i just simply had to capsize as i was gybing round the bottom buoy and feel so so idiotic as i was seeing many other sailors overtake me and i was swimming around uprighting my poor boat. Like some of the other sailors in the byte class, i have a small build, am under the optimum weight for the byte and am quite short. however, i have to be satisfied with because there is no way i can change my build. I think the only way i can be able to handle the boat better is to become fitter so i can hike longer and harder as well as control the boat more efficiently. i think that will be difficult as it is hard to find time to work out. so far, the only excercise i get is walking the dog and going running. that is helping me to improve my stamina but it comes with a price which is losing weight. losing weight is not good because i am already very much underweight for the boat i sail( byte) well. i will have to think of a solution to the problem as soon as possible. I do not want to be so heavy that light air sailing is difficult. anyway i was just thinking and wondering, what makes a national sailor so good? how did they achieve their standard? i am pretty much deep in thought. well. at least i am begining to be able to tack faster and surf waves for longer which will help me during regattas if the wind is strong and the water is choppy. but still in strong wind, there are still many national and club sailors who beat me.

Yours,
An Ren